1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates generally to a user interface for displaying an exchange of messages during an instant messaging session, and, more particularly, to a method and apparatus for displaying instant message exchanges in a manner that graphically differentiates the participants in a conversation.
2. Description of the Related Art
Networks, such as the Internet, intranets, or other private or public networks, are ubiquitous. In fact, many computers are connected to one or more networks at the same time. For example, a business may have hundreds or even thousands of computers coupled to its own private network, which was, at least initially, used primarily for storage and exchange of computer files. At least some of these same business computers may also be coupled to the internet. Further, with the development of wireless devices, ad hoc networks may also be formed with properly configured portable devices. Even telephonic devices, such as cellular phones, pagers and the like, may be coupled to one or more of these networks. Small businesses and homes are also often connected in similar arrangements.
All of this connectivity has naturally led to communications between various users over these networks. For example, electronic mail (e-mail), because of its usefulness, is now commonplace. E-mail is now widely used by businesses and individuals, and in at least some instances has replaced more traditional forms of communications, such as mailed fetters, facsimiles, telexes, and the like. However, e-mail has proven to be somewhat awkward when used to carry on an ongoing conversation.
Instant messaging, on the other hand, allows two or more users connected through these networks to carry on an interactive conversation. Exemplary instant messaging systems include Apple iChat, AOL Instant Messenger, Microsoft MSN Messenger, and the like. Typically, two or more users type in messages or select icons, which they send to one another. The receiving party(ies) may immediately respond with an appropriate message or icon. These instant messages are commonly all displayed in serial fashion, such as shown in FIG. 1, usually scrolling the user's screen from top to bottom. Commonly, each message is preceded by a label, such as BobbyD211 and Fred1432 in FIG. 1, indicating the identity of the author of the message. Heretofore, users have relied on these labels, or other limited indicia, to locate and identify messages from a particular party. Accordingly, it will be appreciated that the presentation of each message in substantially similar format makes it difficult to readily determine the authorship of one or more previous messages. Likewise, it is difficult to go back and quickly locate a previous message without reading through many previous messages.
The present invention is directed to overcoming or at least reducing one or more of the problems set forth above.